Lung Cancer

The 2 major forms of lung cancer are small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) and non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). SCLC cells secrete hormones, and commonly occur in the primary and secondary bronchi. NSCLC includes adenocarcinoma, which derives from peripheral lung tissue, and squamous-cell carcinoma, which derives from primary bronchi. While the exact molecular mechanisms behind lung cancer are still under intense investigation, tumor suppressor gene inhibition and oncogene activation play important roles. The affected tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes regulate immune response, apoptosis, cell cycle, PI3K/AKT, and cell adhesion pathways. Dysregulated gene expression, mutations, and differentially methylated promoters are routinely detected in molecular analyses of lung cancer samples. Research directed at these affected pathways as well as at genes differentially expressed in lung cancer subtypes may yield insights into the molecular mechanisms behind lung oncogenesis. Lung cancers also tend to metastasize, making analyses of metastatic potential also essential.

QIAGEN provides a broad range of assay technologies for lung cancer research that enables analysis of gene expression and regulation, epigenetic modification, genotyping, and signal transduction pathway activation. Solutions optimized for lung cancer studies include PCR array, miRNA, siRNA, mutation analysis, pathway reporter, chromatin IP, DNA methylation, and protein expression products.